Korn Was Not A F**king Emo Show At Sold-Out Verizon

Seventeen years after its inception, Korn still managed to sell out the Verizon Wireless Theater on Sunday night for the 2010 Jagermeister Music Tour. Most bands could only dream of continuing to sell-out venues for two decades, but a look at Korn's fan base, which ranges from 10- to 35-year-olds, gives us the feeling that the band isn't going away anytime soon.
By the time the alt-metal/grunge heroes took the stage a little before 9:30 p.m., the crowd had been chanting, "Korn! Korn! Korn!" for a good 15 minutes, and Aftermath was beginning to worry that a fight would break out if the band didn't show soon. But the lights finally went out, the crowd screamed, and the band took the stage... and fights broke out anyway. We were scared not for our well-being, but for the well-being of our camera. Thankfully (and surprisingly), we managed to get it out of the venue in one piece.
AdaKain, a Dallas-based metal group, opened at 7:30 p.m. and was well-received by fans. After the band's 30-minute set, the members walked out from backstage, and a few dozen fans in the crowd approached them requesting pictures, autographs and "throwing up their horns," as they say at these kinds of concerts.

2Cents took the stage next after dancing along to Mickey Avalon's 'My Dick' during intermission. The group's lead singer, Adam O'Rourke, is also the band's drummer, which is impressive if for no other reason than his ability to ignore his awkwardly scrunched diaphragm and belt out the lyrics. He also managed to taunt the crowd into moshing.
"Is this a fucking emo concert?" O'Rourke said to the crowd, halfway through 2Cents' second song. "Is Dashboard Confessional up next? Do you guys need some razors to cut yourselves?"
At this point, the crowd was pissed, but from what Aftermath could tell, that was the point.
"Or is this a fucking metal concert?" he asked, as the crowd shouted and screamed in agreement. "So punch someone in the face!"
We're all for metal and moshing, but Aftermath always thought fists and elbows were for brawls, not moshes. Maybe the rules have changed. For the rest of 2Cents' set, we stayed away from the pit.

In between the bands, Big Jay Oakerson, an overweight (and possibly racist) shock-and-awe comedian spouted off fat jokes and discussed black genitalia to the Nth degree; he also talked about fat, black women disliking him and the fact that 2Cents' bassist was half black. Obsess much? To us, it sounded like it. Light laughter and awkward glances were exchanged by most of the crowd whenever Oakerson was onstage, which thankfully was never for too long.
Just before Korn, DJ Kid Knuckles (yes, a metal DJ... Aftermath has now seen everything) played remixes to Rammstein, Rage Against the Machine and other bands that would obviously get the crowd pumped. But the guy didn't even have turntables, which begs the question, "What is the definition of DJ these days?"
Right before Korn took the stage, one fan who was pressed up against the rail told us that this was his 15th time seeing Korn live. "They've my favorite band," he said. "I've got a tattoo to prove it." As he lifted his shirt, the lights went out, and the crowd went absolutely wild. Nostalgia set in immediately.

Aftermath remembers when we first listened to Korn in middle school, right after our parents told us not to listen to Korn, Limp Bizkit or Eminem (probably because Fox News warned them about the music and its negative effect on children's minds), so the next day at school, we asked our friend to make us a tape - yes, a tape - of their music, so we could do exactly what our parents told us not to do.

Seven songs into Korn's set, Aftermath was finally able to make it to the bathroom. Usually, long lines for the restroom are reserved for females, but on Sunday night, it was the opposite. The gender of those in attendance was a little one-sided, to say it lightly.
Near the end of the show, during "Freak on a Leash," Aftermath saw one couple mouthing the lyrics "Something takes a part of me. You and I were meant to be. A cheap fuck for me to lay. Something takes a part of me," to one another and then begin violently making out. We didn't even realize we were staring until we got dirty looks, at which point we walked as far away as we could.
The group's encore began with Jonathan Davis walking out onto the stage with his bagpipes in hand. In high school, we played the bagpipes, and for how exhausted he must have been, the dude has quite a lung capacity. And mixing Scottish heritage with rock music isn't a simple task, yet Korn pulled it off.Aftermath left Verizon with the masses and as we stepped outside and lit a cigarette, we realized that we were drenched in sweat. And although we avoided the mosh pits and most of the shirtless, angry fans, the energy of those in attendance coupled with the possible lack of air-conditioning turned us into a sweaty mess by the end. And all we could do is smile.